GK Newsletter April

April Apples  Once again, a lot has happened in the month since our last update. Athletes have been training hard in the lead up to major events. Busselton 70.3 is just around the corner and the energy levels are starting to rise in time for WA's premier event. Ultraman Australia is coming up fast as well as the ITU Long Distance World Champs. GKEndurance athletes will also be competing in 70.3 Mallorca, Subic Bay, Vietnam 70.3, Junior Nationals and 113 OD Malaysia just to name a few! Today's Newsletter covers.  Knowing "THE WHY" Coached Sessions AIS Recap Tips N Tricks: Featuring Peak Podiatry Gear that caught our attention: Power Meters Getting to know you: With Jessica King

COACHES CORNER KNOWING "THE WHY" Knowing the WHY, might seem a little vague to you? But knowing WHY you get out of bed in the morning to go training is the key to consistency and improvement, mental and physical health. So to start with, there is no right or wrong answer here.  The WHY varies form person to person and is usually very personal to the individual. You might say "I don't know why" but if you really think about it, I'm sure there is a very real reason WHY you commit to exercising on a regular basis.  So instead of outing one of our athletes, I'll answer this myself and hopefully it help you reflect on your own "WHY" So WHY does Guy get out of bed in the morning. Most are you are thinking "because Kate makes him" And in a lot of cases that is true. Guy gets out of bed and goes training because Kate makes him.  But on occasion that motivation is reversed and Guy's the one motivating Kate.  But being forced to get out of bed is not Why I train / exercise regularly.  Is it "Being the best I can be"? Yeah that probably has something to do with it. I'm interested and curious to see if I can go faster at 40 than I was at 20. But that's not the only driving force.  If I really think about it my WHY is because  -I like being good at something -I like to socialise -I'm addicted to exercising and would struggle to stop -I love sport (our sport) -I don't want to work in an office -I want to set a good example for our GK crew -I enjoy being healthy, mentally and physically - I love having a job that revolves around sport, allows me to travel, be an extrovert, positivity impact people, and while I'm not a wealthy man, my life rewards are MASSIVE. It's not an easy question to answer and I had to get honest with myself in order to answer that. Usually there isn't just one reason. Is there a goal you are training for and want to achieve? Maybe you want to set a good example for your kids? Maybe it's because you are crazy competitive and you've been kicked out of all team sports? Maybe you are recovering from a major health scare or an ex smoker and need to make sure you never go down that path again? Maybe it was a weight issue or a confidence issue? But whatever your reason WHY , it's your reason and it doesn't matter if someone is training for another reason, they aren't you.  Understanding yourself and your reasons is just as important as the swim/bike/run  so you can wake up each morning and be "pumped" for what the day will bring!  Guy  AIS Australian Institute of Sport In case you missed it we recently spent 10 days at the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport) for a Triathlon Performance Coaching Course.   The course covered a variety of coaching methodology and most days were 6.30am-6.30pm. This was a combination of classroom based lectures and practical engagement.  To sum up what we learnt would be extremely difficult.  But we will say that in the near future we may be incorporating some new ideas and strategies to help improve not only your fitness but your strength in each discipline and that doesn't mean we will make you hit the gym. (I guess you'll just have to wait and see, for a lot of you this will be post Busselton) We were lucky to have Darren Smith as our mentor coach. Darren coached the 2nd and 4th place finishers at the London Olympic's. His CV is extremely long and his knowledge is vast. Darren has degree's in things I didn't even know existed.  He is very driven and a little confrontational. He pushed us to learn and be better than we were before. He never gave us the answer, it was always guided discovery.  We were challenged daily and asked to explain why we would coach that way and then given different ideas or shown alternative ways in which to achieve better (or different) results.  So if your coaches seem a little brain dead cut them a little slack. They were challenged on everything you can imagine regarding coaching and training philosophies.  The last day it was emphasised that there is no right or wrong answer....there are many ways to get the same results. One way might work well for one athlete but not another. So our aim as your coaches is to increase our repertoire in order to help prepare you to achieve your individual goals.  We will come out the other side more knowledgeable and better coaches for it. Thanks for the patience over the last few weeks while we were MIA.  We don't know, what we don't know. Peak Podiatry LOVE YOUR FEET Lets look back in time for a second. Why have I been injured so much over my history as an athlete? So as a kid I raced draft legal triathlon and had shin splints. This was  probably due to the fact I was growing. I was then put in orthotics to stop me over pronating. (rolling inwards). Years went past and I stopped using those orthotics and found I didn't get injured. But then eventually the bones in my feet started to stress and sadly a small bone fractured in Decemeber. Which I now look back on as a good thing. I started working with the good people at Peak Podiatry. It turns out I don't over pronate AT ALL. I supernate. (roll outwards) so my first set of orthotics were causing me more grief than good :(  It took a world class podiatrist in Darryn Sargent to assess what was going on (pretty easy for him to diagnose though) Darryn has taken me from NO running to 20KM to 30km to 40km running weeks and So the short of this is, not everyone needs orthotics but if you are having constant issues with your feet, shins or legs then go and see Darryn, he truly is the top of his profession and will direct you as needed. (that doesn't mean Orthotics in every case, as it's not about the $$ it's about athlete health) I wish I met him earlier in my career. GKE ATHLETES OUT & ABOUT!  Don't forget to send Guy your photo's, he wants to feature you on the GK Instagram page guyrcrawford@gmail.com GEAR THAT CAUGHT OUR ATTENTION When I started Triathlon some 23 years ago, the PowerTap hub set the standard for affordable (it wasn't really) and reliable power meters. Unfortunately Saris, the parent company to PowerTap, is not a hub manufacturer, and did not stay up with the rapidly changing times in the hub industry (various hub standards, disc brakes, thru axles, etc). SRAM recently purchased PowerTap, and will add PowerTap's hub, chainring, and pedal based power meters to their existing Quarq power meter lineup. The power meter market is fascinating place. What used to cost $2000 USD + can now be purchased for $450USD  A few of my favourites (I'm bias to the Stages Power meter as I use one) Hit me up with any questions 4iii (These come pretty cheap) https://4iiii-innovations.myshopify.com/collections/power-meters STAGES:  https://store.stagescycling.com/Single-Sided-Power-Meters GARMIN: https://buy.garmin.com/en-AU/AU/p/pn/010-01787-01 GETTING TO KNOW YOU 10 Quick Questions with Jessica King How did you first get involved in Triathlon? I had a bet with a friend who does IM, he said if I didn’t do an IM I would have to buy him an expensive bike What are your goals for the coming year? To finish The full IM in December in one piece What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you at a Triathlon, running, swimming or cycling event? Getting an upset stomach at KVT, not quite embarrassing but it was quite funny. What is your favourite movie? Shaw Shank Redemption Where is your favourite place to relax? At home on the couch, with a book What is your best characteristic? Never taking life too seriously What is your worst habit? Forgetting something (even after I make a list) What is your favourite "go to" post race/event meal? Any liquid meals, I can never stomach anything else Do you have any pre-race rituals? No What are you most afraid of? Not being able to finish a race Popular Social Post I've feared this on every wet group ride!